What would stricter kona coffee labeling rules change on packaging?

Legislators representing Hawaii's Kona region have introduced companion bills that would raise the required share of coffee from a designated region in blends from 25% to 100%. Blends covering multiple Hawaiian regions would have to list each region and its percentage, and companion bills set a 10,000 dollar fine per violation.

Current state law allows the Kona name when a blend contains just 10% coffee from a Hawaiian region, a threshold growers and legislators have challenged since 2015. A class-action lawsuit involving Walmart, Amazon and Costco added legal weight, and the proposals also require labeling when Hawaiian coffee is blended with coffee from other countries.

Legislators in Hawaii's Kona coffee region have recently introduced a series of bills aimed at implementing stricter labeling regulations for single-origin coffee and blends containing Hawaii-grown coffee. The core change in the proposals is that the proportion of coffee from a designated region in blended products must increase from the current 25% to 100%. Multi-region Hawaiian coffee blends must list the percentage of each region individually, and when Hawaiian coffee is blended with coffee from other countries, the percentages and Hawaii origin information must also be labeled. Accompanying bills also clarify enforcement mechanisms, proposing a $10,000 fine per violation. Behind this movement is the ongoing effort by Kona coffee growers and legislators since 2015 to push for labeling reform, as well as the legal foundation established by a class-action lawsuit involving giants such as Walmart, Amazon, and Costco.

Recently, legislators representing the Kona region of Hawaii in the United States have successively submitted a series of bills requiring stricter labeling management for single-origin coffee and blends containing Hawaii-grown coffee.

According to the proposals, the proportion of coffee from a designated region in blended products must increase from 25% to 100%. At the same time, if a blend involves multiple Hawaiian regions, the packaging must list the name of each region and its percentage individually. Additionally, under the proposed law, if Hawaiian coffee is blended with coffee beans from other countries, the packaged blend must simultaneously label the proportion of each component and the Hawaii origin information. In addition to the companion bills in the state House and Senate amending Hawaii labeling requirements, legislators also proposed another set of companion bills that specify enforcement procedures and require a $10,000 fine for each violation of the proposed law.

The reason driving these bills is that current state law only requires that a coffee blend contain 10% coffee from a Hawaiian region to use "Kona" or other Hawaiian regional names in naming, packaging, and sales. In fact, since 2015, some Kona coffee growers and legislators have continued to push for stricter labeling requirements, with the goal of protecting the reputation of the Kona name and enhancing the image of Hawaiian coffee in the global market.

It is reported that as early as 1991, legislators, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association (KCFA), and a team of local farmer representatives had been working to amend the law. In a bill once proposed, blended coffee labeled as Kona would be required to contain at least 74% coffee grown in the Kona region, and businesses exceeding the 10% threshold would be required to disclose on the packaging the origin of non-Kona-grown coffee. However, neither of these bills was ultimately signed into law.

For the KCFA, which represents about 300 producer members, this outcome is closely tied to the integrity of the Kona name and consumer perceptions in Hawaii and other regions. The organization believes that the current practice constitutes deception and is neither beneficial nor fair to the Hawaiian coffee industry, and may even affect tourism.

The dispute subsequently escalated further, as coffee growers in Hawaii's Kona region filed a civil lawsuit against eight U.S. roasting companies and several of the largest grocery and online retailers in the United States. The class-action lawsuit sought relief for approximately 600 to 1,000 Kona coffee farmers, with the dispute centered on coffee packaging labels bearing the "Kona" name. The defendants included well-known companies such as Walmart, Amazon, and Costco. Ultimately, the lawsuit succeeded, resulting in more than 20 grocery stores and roasting companies being fined over $33 million. This event laid a deeper foundation for the new legislation.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.